Peering into darkness can strike fear into the hearts of some, but a new space telescope will soon peer into the darkness of "near space" (within a few thousand light years of Earth). Scientists are using the telescope to ...

(Phys.org) -- Using a one-of-a-kind laser system at Los Alamos National Laboratory, scientists have created the largest neutron beam ever made by a short-pulse laser, breaking a world record. Neutron beams are usually made ...

(PhysOrg.com) -- It is not always easy to distinguish between images and mirror images of molecules, but this knowledge is important when one image of a molecule is a drug and the mirror image is toxic. One new approach to ...

(Phys.org)—Researchers at the SCK CEN Belgian Nuclear Research Centre have announced that they are going to build a Multi-purpose hYbrid Research Reactor for High-tech Applications (MYRRHA) which is an experimental way ...

Particle physicists routinely and incrementally test the boundaries of what is possible in physics research. Occasionally however, they achieve a breakthrough that reveals an entirely new, uncharted field of study. Researchers ...

(Phys.org)—In a reminder that not all important physics work is going on at CERN, researchers at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) have been sending positrons and electrons into storage rings left over from ...

It's a bit of a challenge. But, imagine a microscopic jet vacuum cleaner, the size of a pen nib that hovers over cell surfaces without ever touching them. Then imagine that the soap in the cleaning solution is replaced with ...

In September 2012 an experiment at the TRIUMF accelerator complex reached a milestone. The FrPNC collaboration —-short hand for Francium Parity Non-conservation—-succeeded in trapping several kinds of francium, including ...

The behaviour of some of the most elusive particles in the known universe can be simulated using three atoms in a lab, researchers at the Centre for Quantum Technologies (CQT) at the National University of Singapore have ...

Particle accelerator

A particle accelerator (or atom smasher) is a device that uses electric fields to propel electrically-charged particles to high speeds and to contain them in well-defined beams. An ordinary CRT television set is a simple form of accelerator. There are two basic types: linear accelerators and circular accelerators.

This page describes types of particle accelerators. For a list of existing and historic particle accelerators see: List of accelerators in particle physics.